Book 6, chapter 13

Standing aboard the Fist, Zee stared at the flickering display, a pit in her stomach. Like flaring candles, several dozen streaks of light burned brightly as they hit the atmosphere. 

The battle group normally would have brought the bodies back home, but they wouldn't return for two years. Instead of stuffing the bodies in freezing arrays to preserve them, they gave them a funeral amongst the stars.

From her vantage above, it looked like a meteor shower as the bodies burned up in the atmosphere. It was strangely beautiful, with streaks of light that lit up the sky one last time.

It was a fitting end for a soldier, one last chance to go out in a blaze of glory. Or at least that is the reason they did the funerals this way. Supposedly, it was one last way to honor those who lost their lives in the line of duty. It might look good in the news, or back home, but to those who lost friends and comrades, it just felt so hollow.

It felt like a hole, no a chasm was left in her chest as she watched the funeral. Four people she had been responsible for had died under her watch. Halder, Ulga, Rosco, and Villian. 

Two of their front-line fighters, a pilot, as well as one of their explosive technicians. Each loss felt like a personal failure. Zee glanced over her shoulder at the sorrowful faces of her squad.

They had all lost friends and comrades during the assault. Zee expected to see the accusation in their eyes as they looked at her, but there was none of that. There was sorrow, loss and anger, but none of that was directed at her.

She met Brick's eyes, and the towering man simply nodded at her, not a trace of accusation in his eyes. A glance at the others revealed the same thing. None of them blamed her for their losses. In fact, the respect in their eyes had only grown. The lack of contempt directed at her only made her feel more inadequate.

If she had only been stronger, and reacted faster, then just maybe more would be alive. 

As if to fill the somber silence, her comm crystal buzzed and captain Tanra's voice echoed from it. 

"Meet me on the bridge in ten minutes," Tanra ordered curtly.

Expecting to get chewed out for seizing command after Black Raven died, Zee excused herself and headed to the bridge.

After walking down the cramped hallways for several minutes she stepped through a thick door that led to the bridge. Tanra was surrounded by his usual aides, the bridge a bustle of activity. 

"Reporting as ordered, sir," Zee saluted, looking straight ahead, over the top of the stout lizard man's scaly head.

Tanra let out a hissing grunt, a shimmering domain wrapping around them, isolating them from the rest of the crew.

"I need to have a word with you," Tanra said in a low hiss.

Zee nodded, clasping her hands behind her back.

"You seized command of your strike group after Black Raven was knocked out from an exploding array. Instead of trying to contact command, you took the strike team, rooting out the defenders on your own. You even managed to bring the strike team back, mostly in one piece. Only thirteen casualties," Tanra said, his expression unreadable.

"I am willing to take responsibility for my actions," Zee replied calmly.

Tanra nodded, pulling something from his uniform, a small pin in the shape of a star.

"I do believe a promotion is in order. I normally wouldn't promote someone so green, but we need more officers with your initiative. Henceforth, you are a one star ensign," Captain Tanra said.

Zee mutely stared at the shiny pin in his scaled hand.

Her dumbfounded look made him let out a hissing laugh.

"Not what you expected?" Tanra asked.

"No, I thought I was going to be given a reprimand, maybe thrown in the brig for ignoring the chain of command," Zee replied honestly.

Tanra huffed.

"The chain of command is important, but there was no way for you to contact us in those tunnels. When communication is down, and you are left alone, that is what makes a true officer.

You took command and completed the objective with minimal losses. Still, this pin doesn't mean you get to go around doing whatever you want. In the upcoming assaults, I expect you to follow orders, or I'll have your hide," Captain Tanra said sternly.

Zee took the pin, pinning the star just above her ensign insignia. Tanra nodded to himself. 

"Keep up the good work Ensign. I expect big things from you in the upcoming invasions," Tanra said.

"Of course, sir," Zee saluted.

Getting promoted for what she felt like was a failure left a sour taste in her mouth, but she couldn't exactly turn it down.

Tanra scratched the top of his long crocodilian snout, eying her. 

"It should only take a month to arrive at our next target. Give your people a few days of time off. They deserve it," Tanra suggested, a dismissal in his tone.

"Yes, sir," Zee saluted and left the bridge.

The next month passed quickly, with the battle group doing repeated jumps. With their rapid pace, they arrived ahead of schedule, and several scout ships were sent into the Ulder star system.

It came back with concerning news. The outpost orbiting a gas giant was a cloud of debris, not a bug in sight. Based on the reports compiled by the sensory arrays, it looked like the blood gorgers had fled, destroying their fuel depot behind them.

That was the main reason the battle group had targeted this particular outpost. Not because of its military might, but because it was a perfect place for the battle group to refuel.

Using the enemy's fuel depot would have been incredibly convenient, but it wasn't completely necessary. Several ships in the fleet had long lines they could dangle into the upper layers of the gas giant's atmosphere, dragging in fuel to arrays that could refine it.

It was a lengthy process, taking a solid four days for the entire fleet to fuel up. If only the blood gorgers hadn't blown up their own fuel depot, it could have bought them a few days.The abandonment of the Uldier depot left the higher-ups confused until they arrived in the Theranus star system two months later.

Aware of the approaching threat, the blood gorgers from the Ulder star system had retreated, bolstering Theranus.

In hindsight, it made sense. Uldier was nothing more than a space dock to refuel and resupply. Theranus was much more secure, a proper fortress, with defensive and offensive arrays surrounding the small moon.

Zee read the reports passed down from Tanra, watching an illusory display which gave an in depth look at the fortress.

A series of satellite array projected a dampening field, making gating in to close extremely dangerous. That kind of chaotic ripple could make the ships jump arrays explode.

It would force them to jump in fairly close and fly in the normal way, right through a gauntlet of layered defenses placed around Theranus.

Like back in the Orren star system, her team, and many others, would be tasked with taking out those outer defenses. The array towers had trouble hitting smaller and more agile targets like drop ships, but they would be defended.

Several dozen small clusters on the illusory display were lit up in red, highlighting her targets.

With the blood gorger's boost in manpower from Uldier, she was expecting fierce resistance. Her squad had three targets in total.

The question was, how to close enough to strike the outermost towers without being detected? Unlike the battle for the Orren star system, the bugs were ready for them. Her only solace was that Theranus was far from any reinforcements or resupply. They were right on the border of the cosmic river and the Lorocan empire.

It was technically no-man's-land, but the Lorocans claimed it as their territory. The blood gorgers, of course, didn't agree with that claim, even going so far as to build a fortress there to claim it as their own.

It wasn't purely out of spite, as the system was a staging base, and also contained an important wormhole. Unlike most wormholes, this one only went to one place, but that place was important.

The wormhole opened up only a few thousand light-years from the cosmic river. Considering the instability of that region, it was far closer than any other wormhole would put you.

This wormhole would save months of travel compared to any wormholes in Lorocan territory. Taking it from the blood gorgers would not only be a kick to the crotch for the bloodgorgers reputation, and create a foothold in their backyard, but also create an influx of wealth to the Lorocans. 

Having several such footholds was of vital importance for the war.

The only problem was that the blood gorgers were not willing to give it up without a fight. No matter how Zee looked at it, taking Theranus was going to be a bloody affair.

She was incredibly relieved that she wasn't the one in charge of coming up with an assault plan. That was for those of a higher rank than a one star ensign. Her job would be to follow orders and secure, or destroy, whatever objectives they gave to her.

Still, just because the plan was schemed up by the brainiacs upstairs, it didn't make her any less anxious. They were headed into a meat grinder, and no telling how many of them would come back out. 

Hidden by camouflaging arrays, their small drop ship moved silently through the outer edges of the Theranus star system. The cabin was quiet, with most of her squad waiting with anxious expressions.

The silver and brown moon of Theranus loomed large on an illusory display lighting up one wall. The glow lit up the cockpit of the small drop ship, casting the forlorn faces of her squad with a dull glow.

Motes of energy danced around her fingers as Zee reached up, adjusting the view on the display. 

Her actions gave her a three-dimensional view of the whole Theranus star system. Lit up on the display were various targets of interest, including places they suspected array towers were hidden in the debris field around the small moon. 

 What didn't show up on the drop ship's display were the other drop ships drifting silently towards the inner star system. Like her own drop ship, the others were dark, hidden by potent arrays that made them blend almost perfectly with the World River. 

Five days ago, the battle group had jumped in the outermost edge of the star system, shooting the drop ships toward the inner system, on an intercept course with Theranus. 

By all accounts, it wasn't a bad plan, but she felt like a sitting duck out here. If the blood gorges discovered them, they would be screwed. So as not to be discovered, no one was allowed to use any skills, and the drop ships were basically running dark. The only active arrays were the camouflage arrays and the environmental arrays to give them fresh oxygen.

It was the only way to sneak past the delicate sensory arrays of the blood gorgers without being detected. Zee knew they should be fine, but being stuck for five days in the cramped confines of the drop ship had her nerves on end. 

Some of her squad were not faring so well either. 

"How much longer?" Tag asked, his voice drifting into the room from the crystal embedded in her inactive environmental collar. 

Sitting across from her and polishing one of his beautiful bearded axes, Brick grunted in annoyance. 

"The answer is still the same as it was the last thirty times you asked," Brick replied, his tone annoyed. Zee thought Brick's curt tone might have shut the pilot up, but she wasn't so lucky. 

"What is the general waiting for? Every day, we delay giving the blood gorgers more time to prepare. There is no way they didn't sense the battle group jumping into the outer star system," Tag said anxiously. 

Brick huffed. "The next time I have a tee with the general, I will ask him," Brick said sarcastically. 

Olson and Geleta, one of the twins, snickered. The other twin, Genevieve, spoke up. 

"Tag, give it a rest. The sergeant has that look in his eyes. If you keep up the constant nagging, Brick might throw you out an airlock," Genevieve said. 

"Fine… I'll go back to twiddling my thumbs. This is so dull, I am not even allowed to do anything. Flying the ship is so boring without Rosco to talk to," Tag muttered darkly.

His words made a heavy silence filled the cramped ship. 

Zee could only sigh. Losing four members of the squad still sat heavy. Some of them looked unaffected while others, like Tag and Olson, were the most visibly changed from it. Tag was a nervous wreck after Rosco died, and Olson rarely smiled anymore. Oftentimes she caught him blankly staring at the empty seat next to him. 

Losing comrades was hard and would change anyone. They hadn't been her friends, but they were under her command, and their deaths still weighed heavily on her shoulders. 

The illusory display flickered, intruding her mental train of thought. Multiple icons flashed into existence on the outer edge of the star system, appearing one after another. 

The drop ships' sensory arrays blared a warning, detecting a foul malignant energy radiating from the ships. 

The drop ships' sensory arrays were not powerful enough to detect what type of ships they were nor who they belonged to, but she didn't need to wait long to find out. 

Another more familiar battle group, which the sensors recognized, jumped into the system nearby. A few seconds later, the command crystal tucked in her uniform hummed, and General Danma's deep voice echoed out. 

"The Terlashar have arrived and will be joining us. Ready yourself for battle," Danma said in a deep, commanding voice.

So, that was why they had been waiting. The general was waiting for the undead to arrive.

Zee had mixed feelings about fighting shoulder to shoulder with the undead, and based on their expressions, so did the others. But they would have to suck it up, as General Danma wasn't waiting around. 

As one, forty warships jumped into the inner star system, unleashing overlapping dampening fields. They jumped in just outside the outer line of blood gorgers arrays and immediately unleashed devastating attacks. It was a beautifully coordinated assault, with all forty ships swarming the blood gorger battle group. 

At first, Zee was elated, but soon realized just how precarious her position was. Her heart skipped a beat as the drop ship's arrays flared bright red from the energy surge. 

The illusory display went crazy as dozens of icons appeared on the star map, weapon emplacements coming out of hiding and firing their destructive projectiles. 

Zee selected the closest one and highlighted it on the display. "Tag, I marked our first target," Zee ordered.

"I see it," Tag replied, nervous excitement filling his voice. 

For the first time in nearly a week, the drop ship hummed to life, and she was thrown back in her chair as the ship altered course, shooting right towards the weapons platform. 

Slammed into her seat, she grasped at the air, motes of energy dancing around her fingers as she adjusted the display. With a few adjustments, their target came into focus. An array tower on a small platform. 

As she watched, the display flickered, dozens of arcs of energy lancing out.

Spanning hundreds of meters in seconds, the potent energy projectiles ripped into a small frigate. Individually, the attacks didn't cause much damage to the ships shields, but there were hundreds of them. In seconds, the frigate's shields cracked, and shattered, leaving the frigate exposed.

Sensing weakness, five blood gorger war ships ignored the other Lorocan ships attacking them and pounced on the injured prey. Rail gun darts, and balls of plasma ripped into the unshielded hull. The frigate didn't stand a chance, as it was violently torn apart. With a bright flash, it turned into an expanding cloud of debris as its reactor exploded. She watched on mutely as hundreds of Lorocon's lost their lives in an instant. 

Anger burned in her chest as the array tower drew larger on the display. She couldn't do anything about the warships, but she could do something about those damned array towers. Impatience clawed at her, urging her forward. Her collar activated, and her seat straps fell away as her body turned to light blue mist. Her perception slowed, her vision turning monochrome as she shot forward, passing Tag, right through the front of the ship. 

In rapid succession, she activated her Wayward Walk skill, appearing hundreds of meters forwards in seconds. It was dark in the void of space, but the stream of bright projectiles it spewed out turned the array tower into a beacon. 

The world river surged, her sword vibrating as she cut down in a ruthless arc. A compressed guillotine of force lanced outward, traveling hundreds of meters in a blink of an eye. 

As if cut by a gigantic knife, the array platform was split in half, an impassable chasm forming. It was ripped apart in one hit, but still she wasn't satisfied. One tower was not enough to sate her thirst. 

Following close behind, the drop ship shot above her, a dark streak against the backdrop of the void. Giving one final glance towards the destroyed array tower, she turned to mist, grasping onto a seam in the hull of the drop ship as she appeared.

Barreling along the fringes of the battle, Zee and her team attacked one array tower after another. Some were unmanned like the first, while others had defenders that she and the squad killed before destroying the towers.

The latest tower unleashed a blinding beam of light that shot right toward them, its occupants well aware of their presence. Zee couldn't blame them for switching their focus. The drop ships had been causing havoc on the sidelines while the fleet was dismantling the blood gorger fleet.

After twenty minutes, the battle above Theranus was in its final stages. She could already see the heavy hitters on both sides clashing in the distance, creating fields of death in their wake. 

Trying not to stare at the enormous bone tower in the distance, reeking of death, she focused on the tower that just shot at them. That beam of light was much too dangerous for her liking, and she wanted to destroy the array tower as soon as possible. 

The drop ship drew closer, and her squad had stern expressions as they readied themselves for combat. It was all for naught. Streaking in from one side, another drop ship attacked the platform. A tsunami of sand crashed down, searing the tower of all life in seconds in an unrelenting sandstorm.

The illusory display flickered a few seconds later, Malden's cat-like face appearing. A wide, needle-toothed smile crossed his face.

"Hello there princess," Malden drawled, his tone making the word princess sound like an insult to her ears. 

"I told you not to call me that Maldy," Zee replied, folding her arms across her chest. 

His fluffy black ears twitched in amusement. "Whatever you say, princess," he said.

Zee gave Malden a dirty look."Whatever... Have you seen any of the others?" Zee asked hopefully. 

Malden's large fluffy ears twitched. 

"Thought I saw Allison's flames deeper in the battle field a few minutes back, but I could be wrong," Malden said. 

"I'll keep an eye out for her. Thanks for the assist, Maldy. Its a busy day, we will have to chat later," Zee said. 

He grinned. "Don't expect me to come save you every time. You need to fight some battles on your own. Later princess…" Malden said with a needle toothed smile, his visage disappearing before she could reply. 

"What an ass," Brick said. 

She laughed. "He's not so bad for a rotten kitty," Zee smiled. 

"Whatever you say, Ensign," Brick replied noncommittally.

She turned her attention back to the chaotic display. She could understand Brick's thoughts. When she first met him, she had thought Malden was an asshole, too. 

His train of thought was interrupted as the command crystal tucked in a pocket of her uniform bussed. 

An unfamiliar voice echoed out, "Ensign, drop what you are doing and proceed to the target I highlighted on your display. We need you to head down to the surface and deactivate the defenses at any cost," a woman ordered. 

"Whose this, and where is Captain Tanra?" Zee asked. 

"I'm Vienna, one of the captain's aides. Captain Tanra doesn't have time to speak personally with every low-ranking officer in the strike force. Therefore, It is my job to help disseminate orders. Your questioning of said orders is prohibiting my ability to do my job," Vienna snapped.

"Sorry, mam, proceeding to the objective now. Zee replied, suitably chastened.

"Good, don't let it happen again. Join up with the star team strike force, and do as ordered," Vienna said, the comm crystal deactivating. 

Biting her lower lip, she stuffed the crystal away with a sour taste in her mouth, her eyes scanning the hectic display. 

With a mental nudge, the display shifted, focusing on a highlighted section. 

"Tag, take us here on the double. We are connecting with the star teams for ab assault on the ground forces," Zee ordered. 

"If we want to get there quickly, we will have to pass through some turbulent energy. Our ship's shields might not be strong enough to endure that kind of chaos. It will take twice as long, but we can go around," Tag suggested. 

"No time to wait, we will have to risk it," Zee ordered. 

The ship rattled, her anxiety growing as the shields flared to life. In the distance, a brilliant flash lit up the void making space fray at the edges.

Her skin tingled, and the world river trembled, as a lake of miasma spread in every direction. 

Etherial spectral flooded from the lake, and swarmed the blood gorgers, spreading their vile plague. That combined with the colossal bone spire, created a zone of death. The scale and power of the skill made her shudder, even if she recognized them.

Sometimes she forgot just how terrifying the bone lord was. She almost pitied the bugs, almost.